[kjb434]

As much as we talk about a down economy, businesses in Houston are still doing well.

Restaurants, stores, bars, nightclubs, and malls are all still quite busy this year.

Also, like some others mentioned: The Denver Pavilion is a small part of the overall downtown experience. HP is part of downtown. A lot more will gradually happen.

I don't have a problem that the residential component didn't get built. Right now downtown is awash in residential units for sale and lease. The One Park Place is just adding a whole lot more on that. I think Finger's project is what hinted at HP to kill the residential component.

[HtownWxBoy]

BigSky, on Monday, December 15th, 2008 @ 10:42pm, said:

I will say that I went to HOB on Sunday afternoon and they had a great crowd. People need to stop being Houstonians and get positive. In a down economy this thing is so far holding it's own and probably 10% of the entire thing is open. Once Lucky Strike's opens, you will see an entire different crowd coming to this development.

Anyone have any info on when Lucky Strike is going to open? It just says December '08.

[LTAWACS]

HtownWxBoy, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 7:16am, said:

Anyone have any info on when Lucky Strike is going to open? It just says December '08.

I think they lost the bowling pins or such and now they have to make new ones... look for opening around january... towards the end...

[GovernorAggie]

ArchFan, on Saturday, December 13th, 2008 @ 2:05pm, said:

I agree, I think we need to give HP time.

I wasn't impressed with the Denver Pavilions when it opened, and frankly, I'm still not all that impressed.

However, downtown Denver has gradually gotten better and better over the years since the 16th Street Mall opened. So much so, that the DP is just another part of the whole scene, not the focal point.

My sense is that the redevelopment of the LoDo area has been the biggest positive force in downtown Denver. Unfortunately, Houston doesn't have as big a reservoir of interesting 100-year-old brick-or-stone-clad buildings downtown. Despite that, I think if we continue to get a variety of interesting redevelopments downtown -- not necessarily all big ones -- I think Houston will do well.

I think Houston has a decent stock of historic buildings on the north side of DT, but even moreso, a TON of parking lots available (read: blank slates) to make something great. I personally see either the far southeast corner of DT near St. Joseph's and/or the far northeast corner around MMP, Irma's, etc. more of a mid-rise (4-8 floors) mixed use residential retail area. Downtown already has the bones--great street grid, very wide sidewalks in many areas, plenty of vehicle movement capacity, and up-to-date infrastructure--to be a really great blend of uses. It will take time, but it will happen I'm sure. Throw in the influx of hotels between MMP and GRB, and maybe around Toyota Center, that could be spurred by the city's rebate of hotel taxes and there could be a lot of stuff going on.

[citizen4rmptown]

HtownWxBoy, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:16am, said:

Anyone have any info on when Lucky Strike is going to open? It just says December '08.

According to the Downtown E-newsletter March 2009.i know we should be optimistic but considering this was supposed to open a couple days ago, im kind of mad. I could understand January or February
but MARCH! oh well just my opinion.

Heres what was in it:

[crunchtastic]

Just a general question for everyone. What's more upsetting?

Delayed opening of Lucky Strike, lack of street level video screens, or that the interior looks like a high school courtyard?

[Jeebus]

Yes.

[Jax]

Maybe it's because I went to high school in Canada or something, but my high school sure looked nothing like Houston Pavilions.

[fatesdisastr]

crunchtastic, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:30pm, said:

Just a general question for everyone. What's more upsetting?

Delayed opening of Lucky Strike, lack of street level video screens, or that the interior looks like a high school courtyard?

id say lack of street level video screens. Lucky Strike will come in time, just need patients, and i think once the first floor fills in with glass windows it wont feel high school. the painted plywood walls makes it feel not very inviting.


street level video screens is what catches peoples eye. for people that dont even realize HP is new they would atleast be drawn to it by moving images. something needs to lure them in

[Houston19514]

crunchtastic, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:30pm, said:

Just a general question for everyone. What's more upsetting?

Delayed opening of Lucky Strike, lack of street level video screens, or that the interior looks like a high school courtyard?

Or.... the constant whining about Houston Pavilions?

[crunchtastic]

Houston19514, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:49pm, said:

Or.... the constant whining about Houston Pavilions?

Exactly. I'm curious as to what's most whine-worthy.

[memebag]

crunchtastic, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 10:01pm, said:

Exactly. I'm curious as to what's most whine-worthy.

I think the constant whining is the most whine-worthy. It seems to generate the most whining.

[C2H]

Whayever happened to the video screen plans? It seems that they just dissappeared or could they just be holding out, waiting for more tennants to arrive

[musicman]

fatesdisastr, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:47pm, said:

street level video screens is what catches peoples eye. for people that dont even realize HP is new they would atleast be drawn to it by moving images. something needs to lure them in

if they are anything like the one at main st square at the northbound stop, then i'm sure we'll see an increase in siezures.

[lockmat]

crunchtastic, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 9:30pm, said:

Just a general question for everyone. What's more upsetting?

Delayed opening of Lucky Strike, lack of street level video screens, or that the interior looks like a high school courtyard?

I'd say the delay of Lucky Strike. That's something very unique it could have brought to downtown...earlier. Oh well.

I wouldn't be too frustrated with the boarded up walls since we already knew tentants would come in at different times. It will be more dissappointing if it's still like this come 6 months from now.

[LTAWACS]

lockmat, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 9:23am, said:

I'd say the delay of Lucky Strike. That's something very unique it could have brought to downtown...earlier. Oh well.

I wouldn't be too frustrated with the boarded up walls since we already knew tentants would come in at different times. It will be more dissappointing if it's still like this come 6 months from now.

The sinking economy... dont look for most anything else to open up until around 2012.

[crunchtastic]

LTAWACS, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 11:11am, said:

dont look for most anything else to open up until around 2012.

that's a mighty bold projection.

[LTAWACS]

crunchtastic, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 12:47pm, said:

that's a mighty bold projection.

I know... and probably wrong... I hope.

[Trae]

LTAWACS, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 1:41pm, said:

I know... and probably wrong... I hope.

What else is new.

[HtownWxBoy]

Most of HP is not even open yet, of course it kind of sucks now... more and more will open in the coming months. Add to that the state of the economy and of course they are going to have a hard time filling in what's empty... we are lucky it even got built. Once the economy picks up which it always does eventually things will improve... just something we have to deal with.

[LTAWACS]

Surely there must be something we can do...

[TexasVines]

LTAWACS, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 3:52pm, said:

Surely there must be something we can do...

rent a space and move in

[Houston19514]

LTAWACS, on Friday, December 19th, 2008 @ 3:52pm, said:

Surely there must be something we can do...

Patronize the businesses that have opened.

[shasta]

Houston19514, on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 @ 6:48am, said:

Patronize the businesses that have opened.

I thought Guadalajara was set to open in late December. I walked by it yesterday and it was no where near being being ready to add the finishes even. When is this one opening and when is Mia Bella? That side of downtown needs restaurants. Hopefully, the extra foot traffic that will help the retailers.

[totheskies]

Any word on Lucky Strike Lanes opening?

[lockmat]

totheskies, on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 @ 12:05pm, said:

Any word on Lucky Strike Lanes opening?

Post #4255 says March.

[LTAWACS]

lockmat, on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 @ 12:16pm, said:

Post #4255 says March.

I hope that's not too late...

[gene]

[livincinco]

LTAWACS, on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 @ 10:00am, said:

I hope that's not too late...

Your optimism is overwhelming. I walked through this center on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised after all of the negative commentary that I've been reading on the site. The bottom level looks almost completely leased and foot traffic was reasonably good. Retail in the upper levels should fill in pretty quickly once the restaurants open.

I know that everyone is very anxious for the other restaurants/shops to open right away, but it just doesn't make any sense from a retail perspective. If you can't be open for the Xmas season, why would you open in January and lose money for the next couple of months?

Expect to see coordinated openings and a significant amount of advertising in the springtime.

[BigSky]

I know the gm at McCormick and Schmicks and spoke to him. He had nothing but positives to say about the current location and stated that the weekend traffic is solid with guest staying downtown and convention traffic. I know personally that for lunch you can't get in without a reservation and therefore, this thing is doing much better than people thought.

Give it time, but you will see that this thing is going to really kick-off the next downtown revival.

[musicman]

livincinco, on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 @ 5:14pm, said:

I walked through this center on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised after all of the negative commentary that I've been reading on the site. The bottom level looks almost completely leased and foot traffic was reasonably good.

i was there saturday about noon. i felt badly. there were more dogs from the pet adoption place than there were patrons at hp. the dog urine on the sidewalk nearby sure didn't help.

[RedScare]

musicman, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 10:49pm, said:

i was there saturday about noon. i felt badly. there were more dogs from the pet adoption place than there were patrons at hp. the dog urine on the sidewalk nearby sure didn't help.

Great job. After 2 consecutive upbeat posts, this thread was in real danger of turning positive! Luckily, Captain Negativity swooped in to save the day!

[musicman]

glad i could help.

[LTAWACS]

musicman, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 10:49pm, said:

i was there saturday about noon. i felt badly. there were more dogs from the pet adoption place than there were patrons at hp. the dog urine on the sidewalk nearby sure didn't help.

I told you...

RedScare, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 11:04pm, said:

Great job. After 2 consecutive upbeat posts, this thread was in real danger of turning positive! Luckily, Captain Negativity swooped in to save the day!

I haven't laughed this much in about a fortnight. I even spilled my vodka tonic!

[RedScare]

LTAWACS, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 11:31pm, said:

I haven't laughed this much in about a fortnight. I even spilled my vodka tonic!

After reading your posts # 4266, 4268, 4271, 4277, I could tell you could use a laugh. It is hard work being as miserable as you are all day long.

OK, enough fun for one day. Back to the doom and gloom, you two!

[LTAWACS]

RedScare, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 11:51pm, said:

After reading your posts # 4266, 4268, 4271, 4277, I could tell you could use a laugh. It is hard work being as miserable as you are all day long.

OK, enough fun for one day. Back to the doom and gloom, you two!

LOL! Miserable? naw...

Thanks redscare... I'll buy you a drink anytime.

[Houston19514]

BigSky, on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 @ 10:23pm, said:

I know the gm at McCormick and Schmicks and spoke to him. He had nothing but positives to say about the current location and stated that the weekend traffic is solid with guest staying downtown and convention traffic. I know personally that for lunch you can't get in without a reservation and therefore, this thing is doing much better than people thought.

Give it time, but you will see that this thing is going to really kick-off the next downtown revival.

I had dinner at M&S recently and got very similar feedback. Was told they are very busy.

[brian0123]

On a side note... last night my wife and I walked to the Pavilions after dinner and Forever 21 was packed. I'm not sure if word is getting around, or if it was a freak incident, but it definitely was a change from when it first opened and it was a ghost town. The line to checkout was almost out the door, the dressing rooms had a line about 15 girls long, and the entire place just had people everywhere.

Unsurprisingly... Lidz was empty.

[lockmat]

brian0123, on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 @ 8:41am, said:

On a side note... last night my wife and I walked to the Pavilions after dinner and Forever 21 was packed. I'm not sure if word is getting around, or if it was a freak incident, but it definitely was a change from when it first opened and it was a ghost town. The line to checkout was almost out the door, the dressing rooms had a line about 15 girls long, and the entire place just had people everywhere.

Unsurprisingly... Lidz was empty.

hmmm...on a Tuesday night? Interesting. Notice any activity at books a million?

[houstonartstudent]

Houston19514, on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 @ 10:03am, said:

So, you disagree. The fact that they did not poll the members of HAIF for this book does not make the book bogus.

And all of this has to do with the Pavilions how?!?...I'd rather hear an argument on the jumbo trons

[brian0123]

lockmat, on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 @ 8:43am, said:

hmmm...on a Tuesday night? Interesting. Notice any activity at books a million?

Yeah, the fact that it was Tuesday is what really caught me off guard. I didn't go in books a million last night, but noticed some people inside as well (not as many though). However, I was in there last Friday and there were a lot of people... and it seemed as if every girl in books a million was holding a yellow Forever 21 bag.

[totheskies]

brian0123, on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 @ 10:37am, said:

Yeah, the fact that it was Tuesday is what really caught me off guard. I didn't go in books a million last night, but noticed some people inside as well (not as many though). However, I was in there last Friday and there were a lot of people... and it seemed as if every girl in books a million was holding a yellow Forever 21 bag.

XXI is one of the hottest "mid-price" clothiers for the teens/20s age group. The downtown location was a super smart idea, b/c the next closests stores are in Pearland, and out west (either Katy or Mem. City). A whole bunch of my friends love it. HP is going annoyingly slow with its openings, but you can't ask for better and more popular anchors than the House of Blues and XXI.

[HtownWxBoy]

totheskies, on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 @ 4:37pm, said:

XXI is one of the hottest "mid-price" clothiers for the teens/20s age group. The downtown location was a super smart idea, b/c the next closests stores are in Pearland, and out west (either Katy or Mem. City). A whole bunch of my friends love it. HP is going annoyingly slow with its openings, but you can't ask for better and more popular anchors than the House of Blues and XXI.

... and Lucky Strike Lanes and Books a Million... I realize Books a Million isn't Barnes and Noble but they sell pretty much the same stuff! Who cares what they call it.

[Captain Impossible]

HtownWxBoy, on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 @ 5:35pm, said:

I realize Books a Million isn't Barnes and Noble but they sell pretty much the same stuff! Who cares what they call it.

I do. It's a horrifically bad store. Though, fitting for this project. It's all the worst things about the retail experiences of Florida and California all in one convenient location.

[lockmat]

Captain Impossible, on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 @ 11:33pm, said:

I do. It's a horrifically bad store. Though, fitting for this project. It's all the worst things about the retail experiences of Florida and California all in one convenient location.

I don't go to book stores often, so fill me in. How can it be that big, have that many books, but be so bad?

What's so different?

citizen4rmptown, on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 @ 7:07pm, said:

According to the Downtown E-newsletter March 2009.i know we should be optimistic but considering this was supposed to open a couple days ago, im kind of mad. I could understand January or February
but MARCH! oh well just my opinion.

Heres what was in it:

[LTAWACS]

lockmat, on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 @ 11:43pm, said:

I don't go to book stores often, so fill me in. How can it be that big, have that many books, but be so bad?

What's so different?

Well let's start with their customer service.

[Jax]

I bought a book there a few weeks ago and I didn't notice anything wrong with the customer service.

[MetroMogul]

LTAWACS, on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 @ 2:50am, said:

Well let's start with their customer service.

.....Okay....let's......

[skyphen]

barracuda, on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 @ 11:27pm, said:

What Denver did right was build the retail at street level on a pedestrian only street (with the exception of a free bus that drives up and down the corridor). The stores in the Houston Pavilions seem kind of tucked away like in a typical mall, so you're not encouraged to go there unless you actually intend to shop. While on one hand I'm glad to see any retail in DT, I do think they really made a mistake in not opening it up a bit and providing a place for more than just shopping. I still think Houston needs more pedestrian-friendly places that feel public and urban rather than more private commercial places you feel trapped inside of.

I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bothering me about this development, but that's it exactly. The lack of street level access. I will patronize and support it anyway, but that was certainly a missed opportunity. It sort of reminds me of the MarqE on I-10 and Silber.

This post has been edited by skyphen: Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 9:58 PM

[Gooch]

Quote

It sort of reminds me of the MarqE on I-10 and Silber.

That was my thought too. If I didn't know it was new, I'd have thought it was place that has passed out of vogue and was receding into disuse.

This post has been edited by Gooch: Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 10:28 PM